Cognitive and Instructional Processes in History and the Social Sciences

14 (Re-)Constructing History and
Moral judgment: On
Relationships Between
Interpretations of the Past and
Perceptions of the Present

Bodo von Borries University of HamburgThere are comparatively few empirical studies of the processes of historical
socialization in the Federal Republic of Germany. This in itself precludes an
overview of the state of research. After some qualitative work using
classroom protocols, autobiographies, and interviews (cf. Borries, 1988), a
series of quantitative studies was conducted with four main aims: (a) to
provide measures of the basic dimensions of historical consciousness
(knowledge, attitudes, collective identity, etc.); (b) to trace the developmental logic of historical awareness; (c) to map the relationships among
cognitive, motivational, moral, and affective constituents of historical
learning; and (d) to explore correlations between interpretations of the past,
perceptions of the present, and expectations of the future. The findings of
a major study conducted in 1990, using closed-response questionnaires (N
= 1,915 respondents from 6th-, 9th-, and 12th-grade classrooms, from
both East and West Germany), is worth mentioning here ( Borries, 1992).
Some of the more important findings were:

1.

Cognitive, motivational, moral, and affective responses can be identified as representing four distinct dimensions; these can be measured with
some degree of validity as separate traits.

2.

Cognitive differences among students are closely associated with age,
type of school, and scholastic achievement in history. Differences in moral
judgments are linked to gender, party preference, and attitudes toward
present-day issues. Motivational and emotional differences are almost
completely independent of social background variables. Motivation and
knowledge are almost completely uncorrelated.

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